06 Apr 2017

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has accepted the introduction of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in the next general elections.

And the party will continue to engage the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to propose improvements where necessary.

This was said by the party’s secretary general, Mr Botsalo Ntuane at a press briefing meant to share with the media resolutions made at the just ended national council for the BDP.

Mr Ntuane said the introduction of the EVM was a much needed development towards the improvement of the voting mechanism.

“We are saying in principle, we accept the introduction of the EVM, but given the concerns, not only raised by the BDP members at nationac Council, we could hear even at Kgotla meetings organised by IEC that people have certain misgivings about the EVM, where people are calling for mechanism for safeguarding integrity of the vote ,” he said.

Mr Ntuane further said BDP did not introduce EVM, adding it was an IEC initiative, which was made as a way of modernising the elections in their system.

He said currently IEC was going around selling the initiative to the nation and creating awareness, adding that people had come out against it, while some were in complete agreement, with others thinking there was a need for the initiative to be looked at anew, which was also the BDP stance.

“After the bill was passed, IEC invited different political parties to unveil the system which we did. We are the only party which have invited IEC to make presentation at the National Forum of the BDP, of which it was on the basis of the presentation, delegates raised issues, questions that going forward they want EVM to be improved in order to ensure credible 2019 elections,” he said.

He said the National Council had also endorsed the idea that government should standardise the feeding programme for primary and secondary schools.

He said itwas becoming a concern that feeding in primary schools differed from that provided in secondary schools, an issue which needed to be rectified.

Other endorsed ideas among the 20 resolutions included the review of the immigration policy to allow investors who have been living legally in Botswana for a period of 5 years to be automatically given a permanent residence status unless there was evidence of their involvement in criminal activities and the BDP call for alignment of the defilement age (16 years) in the penal code with the definition of a child in the Children’s Act (18 years). ENDS